


You're Just A Kid

by Unwoundclock



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Blood, Human!Bill, M/M, Sad Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-01
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-10 02:21:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3273203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unwoundclock/pseuds/Unwoundclock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p></p><div class="center">
  <p><br/><i>He was angry. He was human. He was insanely furious.</i><br/>Dipper reverts Bill Cipher back to his form before he was a demon. He's a kid.</p>
</div>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

You're Just A Kid 

* * *

 

 

"You're not all that you think you are, kid." Bill said with a high-pitched, lilting voice. He thought that it was funny. A human thought that he could take Bill down. _Hah,_ nobody could take Bill Cipher down.

Dipper's hand tightened around the red book in his arms, and he opened it to a page with some odd drawings on it. "We'll see about that, you demon," Dipper muttered as he started reading an odd series of words. Bill looked at him curiously. He couldn't understand what the boy was saying. What did the chant do?

Bill wasn't worried per se, but he didn't like to take chances. He knew that the creator of those books had known too much for his own good. Maybe he'd written something actually important down. _Fancy that_. Something that could be bad for the demon. Bill floated from the sky down to where Dipper was. He was just about to whack the book out of Dipper's hand when he felt something make a _crack_ noise. It sounded like electricity, like something sharp. Bill frowned and tried to look around but he suddenly couldn't move--couldn't do anything.

He fell out of the sky onto the ground, a panicked feeling rising within him. He was mad, he was nervous. He looked up blearily and saw Dipper stand over him, a pleased, triumphant look on his face. He saw the boy close the book and then look back down with surprise. _What? What happened?_ Bill tried to keep his eye open but it was heavy and everything felt so tired. So he closed it and everything went black.

When Bill woke up again, he wasn't in the forest anymore. He felt something soft underneath his fingers. _Blankets,_ he thought, panicked out of his mind at that point. How could he feel the blankets? Demons didn't feel blankets. Bill opened his eyes, the light blinding him. Eyes? Bill looked down and saw fingers. Fingers. He started to hyperventilate because wow, it looked like he had a mouth.

He was angry. He was human. He was insanely furious.

"Dipper! Dipper!!" Bill yelled and got out of the bed, throwing the blankets onto the floor as he started storming around the room. He stomped over to a mirror and stared at himself. The boy in the mirror was short--around the twins' age--and had short, blond hair and some sort of ugly PJs on. It was the body he remembered from a long time ago. He hated it. Bill punched the mirror and was both satisfied and shocked at the way it cracked and splintered under his fist. Edges of glass stuck from his skin and thin lines of blood cascaded down his arm. It burned, it hurt. He'd forgotten how pain felt.

"Bill! Bill, what are you doing?" He heard Mabel run into the room, the door slamming into the wall. Her eyes went wide as she saw his bloody hand. She gasped and Dipper hurried into the room, his mouth gaping as he saw Bill.

"Oh my god, I'll get band-aids! Dipper, make sure he doesn't hurt himself anymore!" Mabel yelled and ran into the hallway. Bill glared at Dipper, his rage flaring up again as he stepped away from the broken mirror and towards the other boy.

"Dipper," He seethed, "You made a mistake. A real fucking big one."

Dipper backed away from him, against the wall. The boy's eyes darted around the room--probably for something to defend himself with--but Bill was already upon him.

He slammed Dipper into the wall with his not-bleeding hand and got close to Dipper's face.

" _What did you do_ ," Bill whispered, cold menace dripping from his words as his bloody hand raked up the wall next to Dipper's head. Dipper swallowed but kept looking into Bill's eyes.

"I reverted you back to your true form. No magic, no nothing," Dipper looked down for a second,"I didn't know you were a kid."

"I'm not a kid!" Bill yelled. He was so angry, so fucking angry. He pushed Dipper onto the floor and the other kid's head fell against the wood. "What the hell--?" Dipper started but Bill was already over him. He pulled a piece of glass from his palm and held it up in front of the other kid's face.

"I'll hurt you so bad, so fucking bad. I'll tear your ears off and make you swallow them. Cut off your tongue. Kill your sister. Fuck up your Fucking life, you hear that Pine Tree? I'll fucking destroy you. I'll make you wish you never even existed. I hate you. I fucking hate you, you useless fucking waste. I hate you!"

Blood dripped from Bill's palms onto Dipper's face and the other boy shook beneath him.

"You're not immortal anymore Bill. You're not a demon. Get over yourself." 

Bill glared at him, a small, sadistic smile slipping onto his face, "make me."

The couple of seconds after that were a blur. Bill was about to stab Dipper's eye with the glass shard when Mabel hurtled against him and knocked him off her brother, pinning him on his back to the floor. He struggled against her grip, kicked his legs and scratched at her hands but she kept her hold on him. She was stronger than he remembered.

"You okay bro?" She asked Dipper and Dipper slowly nodded as he got up, wiping the drop of blood from his face. He looked pale and a little shaken but he walked over.

"What are we going to do with him?" Mabel asked, like Bill wasn't even there.

Dipper frowned, running a hand through his hair, "I don't know. We should probably tie him up for now so that he doesn't escape and hurt anyone."

Mabel agreed and after a good 30 mintes of relentless kicking and squirming on Bill's part, they managed to tie him to a chair. Both of the twins had scratch marks and bruises littering their skin and Mabel had a bite mark on her arm. It bled a little.

"Rowdy little thing, aren't ya Bill" Mabel laughed tiredly as she leaned against the wall, wiping sweat from her forehead. Dipper was flipping through his book again. Bill hated that goddamn book.

The wooden chair was uncomfortable and the rope bit into his skin and made it itch and burn. He kept a steady, hateful look trained on both of the other kids.

"How long do you think you can keep me tied up, huh? I have a human body now, I'm pretty sure this is illegal by your human laws" Bill said, mockingly.

"Just...shutup," Dipper sighed, resting his head in his hands.

"This is your own fault, Dipper. If you hadn't taken away my powers it wouldn't be like this."

Dipper didn't answer and Bill felt vaguely disappointed. Instead, Mabel walked over to him with some kind of liquid-filled bottle and bandaids.

"Okay! So this might sting a bit but we have to disinfect your cuts." Mabel said cheerily as she sat in front of Bill.

"If you think I'm going to let you touch me then you're dead wrong." Bill snapped but Mabel just rolled her eyes and took Bill's hand.

"This might hurt more if you don't open your hand," she said. Bill pretended he didn't hear her and Mabel shrugged and unscrewed the bottle. She poured it onto Bill's hand and-- _wow, fuck_ \--he hadn't been expecting the pain that came with the liquid. His eyes clamped shut and he bit his lip, making a pained noise. He jolted in the chair as Mabel pried open his hand and started pulling out the pieces of glass from his skin. It burned and Mabel kept whispering things like "shhh, it's going to be okay" and "you're okay, you're okay. Just a few more." 

After what seemed like hours, Mabel finally pulled back and put a few band-aids on his palm. Bill was exhausted. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, his breathing still ragged and erratic. He heard Mabel brush her hands together and clean up. Dipper came up to him with water.

"Uhm, do you want some water?" The boy asked and Bill told him to "sod off."

Dipper sighed again and sat down next to him.

"Look, uhm. You're a bad guy, uhm, demon, thing. I mean I guess you're an ex-demon now but you were like an ex-boy so now you're an ex-demon-ex-boy boy but, uh, that's not really important. Thing is, you're bad. And I shouldn't really feel bad for taking away your powers, but I do."

"Want to make me feel less bad? Stop talking, kid." Bill gritted out, the pain still sparking through his body. They sat there in silence for a few minutes. The pain started to ebb away and Bill tried to start planning his escape.

"Were you ever lonely being a demon?" Dipper asked him.

"What?" Bill snapped, "No."

Dipper looked over at him, "but humans usually get lonely without friends...I mean, you were still kind of a person even when you were a demon."

"What do you want me to say, Dipper? I already said that I didn't get lonely, ok? Sheesh."

"But--"

"No buts!! I was fine on my own!! I don't need anybody."

Dipper looked at him for a little bit before talking again.

"This is going to sound a little dumb maybe."

"Wow, what's new," Bill said, deadpan. Dipper scowled at him and then continued.

"I don't know, but like, when you turned into a boy...for some reason I thought that maybe we could be...I don't know...friends?"

Bill looked over at Dipper in surprise, raising an eyebrow. He stared at the boy for a long time.

"You wanted us to be friends?" He said the word "friends" like it was vile, because it was.

Dipper shrugged and Bill sighed. This kid. This stupid fucking kid. Bill wanted to screw him up. Friends, hah. The idea was laughable.

"Believe me kid, we could never be friends. Never. I hate you, remember that? Remember how I almost just gauged out your eye? I fucking hate you."

Dipper frowned.

"Aw, don't look so down Pine Tree. Believe me, you'll prefer me hating you over liking you."

Dipper looked confused, "What do you mean?"

Another smile slipped onto Bill's face, "Well if I had liked you I definitely would have done something _else_ when I was on top of you."

It took a few seconds for the boy to get what Bill was insinuating, but when he did Dipper's mouth dropped open. "Wh-what!" Dipper said, voice cracking as his cheeks went red.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Dipper said loudly.

Bill shrugged, "I told you that you wouldn't like it."

Dipper stayed silent for a few seconds.

"I never said I wouldn't though. I just wasn't alluding to that."

Now Bill was confused, "excuse me?"

"I think I'd prefer it if you liked me."  
  
Bill felt red in the face, frowning, "but I'm a demon! I'm a bad guy, remember?"

"You aren't a demon anymore. You're a human. And who knows," Dipper walked over to the chair, "maybe I think you're interesting."

 


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

 

Dipper had been reasonably surprised when he saw Bill transform from his triangular, demon shape to the limb body of a teenage boy. The book hadn't said anything about this--he'd checked it multiple times--and Bill's human body seemed to be out cold. To be honest, Dipper didn't really know what he'd expected, but it hadn't been this.

So he'd had to carry the passed out boy on his back through the forest and all the way to the Mystery Shack. Dipper wasn't the strongest guy on the block, and while Bill was pretty light, it was still a long treck. When he finally got to the Shack, he'd put Bill in his bed and waited for him to wake up.

So there he was, staring at the humanized version of the demon that had been menacing him for months now. Asleep, the boy didn't really look like a threat at all. He had fair features and light freckles across his cheeks. His spark of blond hair was the only thing that even closely resembled the demon that Bill remembered. _He's my age_ , Dipper thought, pulling the blankets over the sleeping boy.

Something about Bill now though made him curious. How would he react when he woke up? Maybe they could get along now. Get along? No, Bill was an evil demon who'd tried to kill him and his sister multiple times. Dipper shook his head. He turned away from the bed and went looking for Mabel. He found her downstairs making some puppets. He explained with some brevity that Bill was in his bed--"No, not like that, Mabel!"--and that the demon was now a human. She seemed delighted and was making kissy faces when suddenly there was a sound of shattering glass from upstairs. They ran upstairs and found Bill dripping blood from a clenched fist, looking like a psychotic serial killer from a horror-flick. This, again, was not what Dipper had expected.

Fast-forward one hour.

Bill was tied to a chair and Dipper was trying to talk to him, with little success. Right when Dipper was about to give up on trying to be friends, Bill said "Aw, don't look so down Pine Tree. Believe me, you'll prefer me hating you over liking you."

Dipper looked at him, trying to understand what the triangle was saying, "What do you mean?"

The boy smiled--the kind of smile that made Dipper feel sick with worry--and said, "Well if I had liked you I definitely would have done something _else_ when I was on top of you."

Now, Dipper couldn't deny that he didn't think human Bill was cute--because he kind of was, in a weird way--but Dipper didn't think that Bill would ever broach the subject himself. Did demons even feel feelings of romance or attraction? It kind of threw Dipper off-guard just because of the absurdity of the scenario. Bill liking him? It seemed too implausible. Dipper guessed it was.

So the best Dipper could manage was a creaky-sounding "Wh-what!" that cracked because of damn puberty.

"I didn't mean it like that!" he said, covering for himself. Maybe Bill had seen through him. Seen his odd sort-of crush. Was it even a crush if you were afraid of being killed by the person you were crushing on? Dipper didn't know. He guessed that technically it was.

Bill seemed to relish in Dipper's reaction, shrugging casually against his bonds, "I told you that you wouldn't like it."

What was Bill playing at? If Dipper's reasoning was right, Bill didn't feel romantic feelings. So he was probably bluffing, trying to throw Dipper off his game. Well two people could play that. Dipper made a show of looking nervous before meeting Bill's eyes again.

"I never said I wouldn't though. I just wasn't alluding to that."

"Excuse me?"

The blond boy looked vaguely worried and a little freaked out, like he was out of his element. Which he was, totally.

"I think I'd prefer it if you liked me," Dipper said, smiling at the way Bill seemed so uncomfortable. _Kill them with kindness_ , as Mabel always said.

Bill Blushed and argued, "but I'm a demon! I'm a bad guy, remember?"

_Cute_ , Dipper thought as he walked over to Bill, confidence restored. He was still nervous, but he knew that he couldn't show it or he'd lose his upper-hand again. He stopped right in front of the chair Bill was tied to and smiled down at him, crossing his arms. This was him challenging Bill Cipher, the boy who'd been a demon.

"You aren't a demon anymore. You're a human. And who knows, maybe I think you're interesting."

Bill frowned and fought against the ropes again as Dipper stepped closer. Dipper had never seen Bill more nervous and hell if it wasn't at least a little entertaining. Still, Dipper wasn't one for sadistic games--unlike _someone_ \--and didn't do anything, just stood in front of the other boy.

"What? What do you want from me, human?" Bill snapped, blond hair sticking to his forehead as his feet tucked under the chair.

"I'm curious," Dipper said, "I wonder if you feel emotions. Like human ones."

"The answer is yes, if my unbounded desire to rip your heart out in my unleashed fury is anything to go by." Bill gritted out.

Dipper thought for a second and then shook his head, "no, I think that unbounded anger thing is a demon thing. I was thinking more along the lines of love and, you know, caring for someone."

Bill made a disgusted face, "you can't be serious."

Dipper kept a straight face, "I'm very serious."

"Oh my god, okay let me dain to ask. How is it that you're going to test if I have these so-called 'human' emotions? I'm really dreading the next words to come out of your mouth, Pine Tree."

"Well," Dipper blushed,trying to articulate his reasoning, "you were the one who brought up the idea of you potentially liking me...and well, I think that since you made the option available, you should follow through with it."

It was a challenge. One that Dipper was 85% sure would fail because, frankly, it was a bit of shaky reasoning. For starters, Dipper had to analyze why he'd even want to put himself into a situation where he could potentially be the object of affection of Bill. A boyfriend who used to be a demon? Who asked for that? Who even thought of that?

Dipper bit the inside of his cheek, waiting for Bill to respond to his proposition. He wasn't sure if he wanted the other boy to back down or not. It was confusing and nerve-racking so he just held his breath.

"No, you know what? I don't want to, ok. I don't have to because wow, guess what happens if I don't? Nothing. So bug off."

Dipper was strangely disappointed but tried not to let it show, "oh. I mean I guess you're right..."

"I know." Bill said with satisfaction as Mabel ran into the room again, yelling, "bed time!!"

Dipper nodded and started walking into his closet for his pajamas. Only...He couldn't find them. Then both of the twins seemed to remember Bill and turned to face him with an, "oh, right."

Brilliant, Bill had abducted his Pajamas. Also, where was Bill supposed to sleep? The twins weren't mean enough to force him to stay in the chair all night.

"We gotta tie him to the bed."

"Strap him to the bed."

Both of the twins said at the same time and they braced themselves for the perilous task that lay before them.

It was a little less stressful this time, mostly because by this time Bill was exhausted and there were two of them and one of him and his human body was sadly skinny and not much of a weapon. So there he lay, with some kind of softer rope (or something of the sort. Mabel had taken it out of her crafts box) tied around his arms and legs. He stared at the ceiling while Dipper awkwardly dressed behind the door in a large T-shirt and shorts.

Human bodies were weird to be in. First of all, everything either felt too warm or too cold. His toes, for instance, were freezing. His hands on the other hand were sweating. Bill found it gross. How did humans deal with this kind of poor hygiene again?

Dipper brushed his teeth and then padded into the room awkwardly. "Uhm, we have to share a bed. Because, well, you know."

"I know."

Dipper tapped his fingers together nervously and then pulled up a part of the blankets and crawled onto the mattress. The bed dipped a little and Bill made an annoyed sound in protest--more like "hey that's my blanket, back off."

Then Dipper turned the lights out and they both stared into darkness. It was really awkward. First of all, both of them weren't moving, pretending to be asleep, except it was obvious that they were just holding their breaths. Secondly, breathing sounded really loud in the otherwise silent room. So after a few minutes of them both trying to be as quiet as possible, the awkwardness became more suffocating than unbearable.

"You awake?" Dipper whispered.

Bill snorted, "Yeah, and you're hogging all the blankets. Also your breathing sounds like a land-stranded walrus. Keep it down, it's keeping me up."

Dipper frowned but rolled over and covered Bill with more of the blanket, tucking the sides underneath the other boy. "There. better?"

"I'm thankful inside, truly, Pine Tree."

"I'm _trying_ to be nice." Dipper said, "you're not exactly making things easy for me."

"Oh, well! I guess it's my fault that you transformed me into a human. I guess it's also my fault that you tied me to a chair and tried to pull human courting moves on me. This must all just be my fault."

"Well, sort of--" Dipper started but then seemed to think better of it and just shut his mouth and turned away from Bill, "you know what? Just forget it. It's not like the courting was my idea. You're backing down."

There it was. The twitch. Bill's eye twitched.

"I'm not backing down. I never said that you should human court me."

"You implied that you liking me would be too much for me to handle. I think that I could handle it, yet you're backing down. So yeah, you are."

Bill frowned. If he were in his demon form, he'd have easily broken out of the ropes and disintegrated Dipper were he was lying. Alas, he was just a mere mortal. He was also angry again. He'd never considered that perhaps he had an anger problem before he met this kid. What most infuriated him was that Dipper did have a point. Albeit a kind of stupid one.

"I'm doing you a favor."

Dipper turned back around in the bed, facing him, "I never asked for a favor. Stop looking down on me. You sound more worried than I do."

Bill gritted his teeth. He'd make Dipper's life a living Mindscape for putting him through all of this shit. He scrunched his eyes, voice quivering with unleashed rage, "fine. Fine, you know what? I'll do it." _Don't expect me to be merciful_ , Bill thought.

Dipper smiled victoriously, "hah, okay, deal on."

"Alright then. Kiss me."

Dipper stopped his smiling, "uhm, what?"

"That's what humans do when they like each other right? So kiss me," Bill smirked, "unless that's too much for you, of course."

Dipper hesitated, looking uncomfortable, "I don't know, maybe that's moving too fast?"

Bill was unamused. Dipper revised himself, "I mean, like, haha, are you sure?"

"Yes, completely. I told you that you wouldn't be able to take it. Just give it up, Pine Tree."

Dipper licked his lips nervously-- _ew_ , Bill thought--and stared at him. It was like the kid was battling out his options against each other in his mind. It was kind of funny. "Don't give yourself an aneurism, kid." Bill snickered.

Dipper seemed to come to a conclusion because he got on his knees and leaned over Bill.  _Holy shit he's actually going to do it_ , Bill thought, a little surprised, a little not sure how this was going to go or even how he felt about this. It's just a stupid human custom, he reminded himself. He closed his eyes and waited for it to happen but it never did.

He opened his eyes when Dipper started laughing. He glared up at the other boy. "You're the one backing down now, Dipper."

Dipper chuckled again, "sorry, sorry. It's just--your face."

That kind of pissed Bill off, "Yours isn't something I like to marvel at either but at least I don't laugh in your face about it. You got spit all over me."

"Oops, sorry. Did I hurt your feelings?" Dipper asked playfully and Bill ignored him.

Dipper pouted and then leaned down and kissed Bill on the cheek, right below his right eye. He pulled back and they looked at each other for a few seconds, for some odd reason. Was this just what humans did? Bill wanted to look away but couldn't. That hadn't even been a real human kiss, not the way people kissed on the tv. He didn't know what that had been.

"What was that?" Bill asked, confused.

"A kiss." Dipper said. looking away from Bill's eyes in embarrassment.

"Hm," Bill was skeptical, but then again, he didn't know what a cheek kiss was. Maybe it was more sacred than a lip kiss. He'd have to look into that later. Wait, no, why was he even still thinking about this?

"Okay, get off me now."

Dipper ducked his head with a "sorry" and rolled off of him onto his side of the bed again. This time the silence was weird, but not entirely awkward. Bill's arms were sore and his hand still hurt. He closed his eyes for a second. He'd think of a way to escape later. His body was tired. The pain started to fade a little and he fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Frankly, it's a little odd how much I enjoy hurting Dipper.

* * *

  
Not only were the dreams real, but he couldn't do anything about them. It was a startling discovery, an ironic awakening. Bill screamed into the void, because somehow it was scarier than the Mindscape. He didn't like how vulnerable his new body felt, how it like his skin was fragile; he never felt fragile. If anything though, it was the feeling of helplessness, like he couldn't protect himself if he tried. And oh, he tried. As much as he tried, he still couldn't access his powers. He was confined to his mind and flesh, forced to be put through this blank, scary world.

"Stop it!" he screamed again, his throat hurting for some reason. He tried to calm himself. _It's just a dream,_ he thought. _Just a scary, empty dream_. No wonder the Dipper kid always got so worked up when Bill took him to the Mindscape. Bill sat down on the grey, sandy ground and felt his eyes sting for some reason. He lifted a hand to his face and felt something wet. _Blood_ , he instinctively thought before he even looked at his hand. Bill looked down at it. Instead of something red, there was a clear liquid on his skin. It looked like water. Bill furrowed his brows and inspected it before yelling, "stop! Stop it...just stop it. Stop, stop, stop." He chanted until suddenly the dream world was yanked from under him, whirling him back into the real world.

He awoke suddenly, eyes snapping open, the world was strangely blurry.

"--ill. Bill, hey Mabel, I think he's waking up," Dipper called to his sister as he looked at the other boy worriedly. Dipper had been awoken by someone yelling and had belatedly realized that it was their guest. Luckily, Mabel was good at handling these types of situations.

His sister ran in with a bowl of cold water and a towel and dropped them on the ground as she hurried over to the bed.

"Bill? Bill, are you okay?" Mabel asked and she patted him a bit as he blinked in confusion. As soon as he was able to, he pushed Mabel away from him and sat up.

"There's something wet on my face," he said quietly, hoping it wasn't too grave. Maybe this was how humans died. He rubbed his--oh, looks like they'd untied him--hands over his eyes and felt more wetness on his cheeks.

Mabel smiled sadly, "yeah. You're crying, silly. You had a nightmare. Here's a towel."

Crying, huh. Bill faintly remembered the word and action associated with it. Dipper patted him lightly on the back and Bill didn't find it entirely unpleasant.

After that incident, the twins didn't tie him to anything. Bill wondered if it was because they felt guilty. Frankly, Bill didn't care why they'd given him freedom. He was just enjoying the way it made it just that much easier to escape. The only problem was that if he wanted to get his demonic powers back, he needed to know what spell Dipper had cast on him so he could reverse it. For some reason he couldn't remember any of the words. That's why he needed the book.

Currently, the book was in a safe. The twins weren't as air-headed as they seemed. So Bill was stuck.

He looked across the table at Dipper, who was pouring some ce-re-al into a bowl. Bill's hands were tied together (he was still an ongoing safety hazard. Apparently attacking people with glass was pretty bad) and he was really getting fed up with wrist burns. Dipper looked up and caught Bill's eyes, then his cheeks went red and looked back down. Humans were so weird.

Mabel gave them both a mischievous look and waggled her eyebrows, "oooh, did something happen?"

Dipper finished eating and stood up, mumbling, "shut up" as he went to put away his bowl. Bill didn't even justify her question with an answer, just glared in annoyance. Humans were really so simple. Bill tested the rope around his wrist again and felt some pain so he stopped. Pain was all fun and games until he had to deal with a broken human body.

"Okay, let's go exploring!" Dipper said with enthusiasm as he got his backpack. Mabel rolled her eyes but got up and started tying her shoes. Bill sat in his seat and hoped that they'd just forget him so that he could somehow get the book and leave. He had no such luck.

"Hey Brobro, what are we going to do with Bill?" Mabel asked as she stood up and pointed her thumb at him. Bill would definitely enjoy killing her brutally. Dipper came in with the book--Bill focused mostly on the book--and made a thoughtful face.

"I guess...we take him with us?"

They gave each other unsure looks and Bill sighed. He had to go with them now anyway because they had the book. He got out of the chair and contemplated how he would be able to take down both of the twins and get the book. He could probably overpower Dipper again but Mabel was a different story. Physically, she kind of scared him. Only a tiny bit. Microscopic, really.

They walked outside and Dipper flipped through some of the book's pages until he stopped at a page. It had an odd dinosaur-like creature on it. Bill really hoped that they weren't actually stupid enough to go after one of those. 

"We're going to go hunting for dinosaurs," Dipper said confidently and adjusted his hat. Mabel smiled next to him and gave a thumbs-up sign. Bill felt like braining himself with a rock. The twins didn't seem to have any real method or strategy for finding the dinosaur. They just kind of wandered around the woods for what felt like forever. Dang human feet hurt. Bill was losing his nerve again.

"Maybe there's a cave or something where the dinosaurs hav--"

"No! Holy heavens, kids. Yeesh. You guys are totally wrong. Look, dinosaurs aren't around here, okay? They're way deep in the forest. You're not going to find the--"

Okay, so maybe that was a lie. Bill had just wanted the kids to get discouraged and go back to the shack. Unfortunately, they were right in the middle of dinosaur territory. The twins just seemed to have a knack at getting themselves into trouble. Bill was interrupted by a very loud, angry roar. Fucking hell.

A huge blue dinosaur lumbered out of the forest, drool hanging from its open jaws as it caught sight of them. _Fuck_ , Bill thought. He really wasn't going to enjoy this experience in a human body. _I could die_ , Bill realized. Jeez, that was screwed up. The twins were screwed up for even wanting to willingly put themselves in this kind of danger.

The giant thing sniffed at them loudly and then bared it large, sharp teeth. Dipper said "crap" and Mabel yelled "run!" Dipper pushed Bill into some bushes as the dinosaur made a move to eat the boy. The large teeth grazed Bills hands and the rope fell to the ground. His arms bled a bit but the pain didn't really register anymore.

Now, at this point Bill was more angry than shocked or scared of his human mortality. He was _very_ angry. Mabel was dealing with distracting the dinosaur and Dipper was lying next to him, defenseless, with the book. Now might not have been the best time for any daring moves, but Bill was about to blow his top (hat). Dipper had almost gotten him killed.

Before Dipper could get up, Bill dove at him. The other boy made a surprised noise but was a little more prepared for the ambush this time. He grabbed his book just in time as Bill grabbed it too and they wrestled around in the bushes for ownership of it.

"Let go!" Bill seethed and his foot kicked Dipper in the face, definitely leaving a red mark and eventual blue eye. Dipper winced and rolled them over so that he was on top again. His fingers tangled in Bill's dirty blond hair and he held the other boy down, his knee against Bill's stomach.

"What the fuck, Bill. Give it up," Dipper said with a hoarse voice; Bill had been choking him at some point during the fight. Bill glared and then bit Dipper's arm in a last-resort assault. Dipper's grip loosened for a second and he was pushed onto the ground again. Blood smeared across Dipper's cheek and he wasn't sure if it was even his. Bill managed to yank the book from Dipper's hand and he kicked Dipper in the stomach--hard--when the other boy tried to get it back.

Dipper coughed and fell onto the grass. Bill panted as he got up and wiped blood from his mouth. Geez, that kid. He flipped through the book until he reached the page with the odd text on it. Oh, no wonder he hadn't been able to read it. It was an anti-demonic text, which meant that the author had used some sort of spell to make it so that he couldn't read it. Bill let out another deep sigh again. This made things a little more difficult.

He looked over to where Dipper was on the ground. In the distance he heard Mabel scream.

Bill walked over to the boy with a cold demeanor. He squatted next to the boy and yanked his head up.

"Kid, hey kid," he slapped Dipper's face to get the boy to open his eyes again. Dipper winced and blinked at him blearily.

"I need you to read this," Bill said, holding up the page. Dipper's eyes adjusted and he frowned. Bill knew that look. It meant he was going to have to be a little more persuasive.

Bill's fingers tightened in Dipper's hair and he slammed the boy against a tree, holding the book in front of him. Dipper breathed shallowly, blood dripping from his forehead. His brown hair matted together.

"Look. Your sister's in trouble, yeah? I heard her scream a second ago and you're really not going to be much help, I mean, look at you. Now It just so happens that I'm not feeling very generous at the moment. She's going to die if I don't get my powers back, Pine tree."

Dipper tried to get up to look for Mabel but Bill easily pushed him back down with his hand and shoved the book back in his face. "Read."

The twin looked like he was about either hyperventilate or faint but took a few steadying breaths and looked at the words. He started reading in a shaky, broken voice and Bill felt sparks of power. The words were still uncipherable (hah) to Bill but they seemed to be working. Around half way through reading, Bill's blue flames sprung up around him, singing the cover of the book around the edges. It caused Dipper to stop with a surprised noise. Bill slapped his cheek and the boy bit back a yell and started reading again.

 _Ahhh, yes_. Bill's eyes closed and when he opened them the world had merged into one again. He blinked his eye and looked down, noticing happily that those pesky human legs were missing. He sighed contently, stretching his black arms.

"Mmmmm, I can not tell you how nice it is to be back in my own body." Bill said casually, giving Dipper a friendly eye. Dipper, of course, was trying to stand up. Poor kid, Bill knew that at least one of his legs was broken. Bill really just wanted to finish his revenge on the boy right there and then but _a_ _deal is a deal_. He was a fair demon. But not a merciful one.

Bill knocked Dipper's legs out from under him with his cain, "sit back and relax, kid. I'll save your sister, yeesh. No trust, huh."

With that, Bill floated up above the tree line and saw the moving figure of the dinosaur. It looked like Shooting Star was still alive. Bill made his way down to the monster and with a mere tip from his top hat, he sliced the beast's head off. Death was instantaneous. Bill felt high on the power. The dinosaur fell to the forest floor with a loud _Thump_. The creature's large, glassy, yellow eyes stared at Mabel as she shivered from behind a tree, knees scuffed and hugging what looked to be a fractured arm and rib. She looked up and saw him, her eyes wide and scared and surprised.

"Bill." She said quietly, half relived, half terrified.

She knew what was coming, didn't she.

"Nice to see you alive, Shooting star. Things just aren't as fun to play with when they're dead."

Menace crept into his words and Mabel backed away.

"Wh-where's Dipper?"

Bill pretended to muse for a second before putting on a cheery voice, "gee, I don't know, kiddo! Last I saw, he was bleeding somewhere. Lemme think. I know I left him around here somewhere..."

Mabel looked panicked and Bill laughed. This was already fun. He picked Mabel up with his blue flames and suspended her into the air. He took her to where Dipper was still slouched against the tree. Humans really bled, didn't they. When she saw him her hands flew over her mouth. Then she began struggling against Bill's magic to get to him.

"Dipper!! Dipper!" She yelled, uselessly kicking in place. Bill rolled his eye.

"Calm down. He's not even dead. Jeez, you guys get so worked up, don't you."

He floated over to Dipper, keeping Mabel in the sky a good distance away. She watched him nervously. He ran a hand down Dipper's cheek and the boy winced.

"See, not dead." Bill said cheerily. Mabel did not look comforted. _If only she knew what was next,_ Bill mused giddily. He was going to have so much fun.


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

Mabel was scared. She didn't usually ever feel _really_ scared. Yeah, monsters got her heart rate going but she didn't feel like she was in any real danger. Even that dinosaur had been a bit of a boring chase, despite her injuries. Run for your life, Run for your life, hide for safety. Just a repeating loop. Boring, right?

Bill, on the other hand, was scary.

His unpredictable moods made her uneasy and his violent tantrums were traumatizing. Not only was the demon powerful, no, he was also manipulative and calculating. Mabel knew that nothing good came from getting on his bad side. But she hadn't known exactly how vengeful he was until she saw her brother's bloody body lying against a tree.

Dipper's face was scratched and dried blood stuck to his cheeks and fingers. One of his eyes had a distinct blue bruise around it and there was a red imprint of a shoe across his face. Mabel winced at the thought of how hard Bill must have kicked him for it to leave that kind of imprint. Mabel looked lower and blanched at the sight of his leg. It looked like it was lying wrong, a little too tilted or something. It did not look alright. Mabel tried to run to her brother but Bill was still suspending her in the air with his magic.

Bill did, however, float over to her brother and run a hand down his cheek. Mabel frowned with hatred. Nobody touched her injured brother if they were the reason he was injured. Mabel seethed inside, trying uselessly again to get out of the magic. Bill rolled his eye and picked Dipper up with his magic too.

"Alright kids, next stop," he looked back at them and his yellow color suddenly switched to a very vibrant red, " _revenge_."

His color snapped back to yellow and the demon giggled, "don't look so scared Shooting star! I definitely hate your brother more. You might just get off alive."

Hah, as if. Bill, as stated before, wasn't merciful in the slightest. He snapped his fingers and relished in the sight of everything turning monotone. The color was leeched from the trees and ground and sky and everything went still. The Mindscape was a sanctuary. A paradise, of sorts. 

"Home sweet home," Bill said contently and floated all three of them to his Demonic Palace. Needless to say, it was basically the carcass of some dead guy's mind. Well, Bill had to make do with what he had. He couldn't very well just keep a living person in the mindscape forever. He wasn't a babysitter. It wasn't that bad of a place anyway. Yeah a little gory, a little dusty, but it was a good _head_ quarters. The dead guy's memories were a little entertaining too. But enough of that.

He set the twins down on the ground and made a cup of tea appear in the air next to him. Gee, he was whooped. He watched casually as Mabel immediately stood up and ran to her brother. Predictable.

"Dipper? Dipper." She said softly and held his hand. Dipper shifted slightly and she started crying, "oh my gosh, you're okay brobro. You're okay."

"Mabel...?" Dipper's eyes opened and he blinked them slowly, bringing his hand up to his face. Mabel used her sweater to wipe the blood from Dipper's cheeks and she hugged him the best she could with one arm. H _er other one is definitely fractured_ , Bill mused. Dipper tried to get up but winced and fell back at the pain in his stomach.

"Where are we?" He asked as he looked around, voice still quiet and sore. The bleak walls and weird, moving pictures queued him in. The Mindscape. This one didn't look like Stan's but it was close enough. What with the white and black color scheme and odd snippets of memories. Fuck, that meant that Bill was here too. He probably wasn't too happy either.

Dipper looked up and saw Bill. His face went pale, "Bill."

"Oh, so you're finally up! We just have so many fun things to do. I was afraid that you'd miss out on some. I have some plans laid out for both of you. I do feel more burning hatred for you though Pine tree, so it's only fitting that you go first."

Bill snapped his fingers and Mabel was surrounded by a metal cage. She yelled in surprise and then got up and yanked at the steel bars.

"Careful Shooting star. Your ribs and arm are already in pretty bad shape."

Dipper shot her a look and she looked guilty for a second for hiding her injuries. Bill smiled. Ah, drama. His favorite thing right after physical pain. He turned his attention back to Dipper. The boy still couldn't stand up and oh, he looked so deliciously helpless.

"You really didn't think that through, did you kid. What, you thought that you could turn me into a human and that everything would just be fine forever after that? You're so naive," Bill pushed the kid with his foot, causing him to curl up a little. A little blood dripped down Dipper's chin.

"Leave my brother alone! Get away from him you--you monster!" Mabel shouted from her cage and _ugh_ , that was annoying. Bill spun around, red, and glared at her.

"If you don't shut up I'm going to lose my patience and just kill him now. I'm this close to just disposing of both of you. You're causing me more trouble than you're worth."

Mabel shut up, wide eyed, and Bill sighed and went yellow again. Gee, where was he again? Oh, right. He continued.

"Not only that, no, you thought that you could make me feel. You thought you could make me--a demon--feel your revolting human emotions." Bill said with disgust as he strolled around the boy. So much fun! These twins just made such good toys. He prodded Dipper with his cain, "what, not going to say anything? Or maybe you just can't. Hm, or maybe it's just that you don't like talking to this body."

Bill shape-shifted himself back into his human body. He really didn't mind this form now that he still had his powers. He sat down next to Dipper and pulled the kid up so that he was sitting against the wall. Dipper seethed and Bill grinned widely. He cupped Dipper's face tenderly with his soft human fingers and brushed his thumb over the other boy's eyes. He could gauge them out right now. He kind of liked them. That pretty brown color would look so nice in a jar. His thoughts drifted to the boy's chapped, bloody lips. Nice. His hand went down to Dipper's broken leg and the boy shouted when Bill twisted it.

"Wakey, wakey Pine tree," Bill said liltingly as Dipper's eyes opened, "I want you to see every second of this."

Dipper's hands were cold and Bill wondered if that meant he was scared. It was weird how human bodies immitted different amounts of heat depending on how they felt.

"You like this body better, don't you?" Bill said with sickly softness, his hands running up Dipper's arms. Blue and green-tinted bruises littered his skin. Bill was almost proud.

"No," Dipper said, his voice cracking at the end.

"Right," Bill said, unconvinced. He leaned down and kissed Dipper's cheek and oh, there was that blush again. He kneeled over the other boy.

"Get off," Dipper gritted out and Bill laughed.

"You're really not in a position to be giving orders. Also, from what I can tell, you liked that." Bill pinched Dipper's cheeks and they got redder, "you're kind of screwed up in the head, kid. You know I could kill you, yet your body still likes mine. Humans are so messed up."

"I--"Dipper looked for something to defend himself with but it was kind of true. He knew that Bill was dangerous, that he didn't even feel the same things that he did. He knew that the idea of him and Bill getting together was just that: an idea. That didn't stop him from being curious about the demon though and heck, maybe he even liked him. Dipper had always blamed his warped, slight-crush on the demon as teenage hormones. It was still weird, he had to admit. What kind of idiot had a crush on their enemy? That was definitely counterproductive. He wondered again why he'd just reverted Bill instead of killing him. Hell, he knew the answer already. He didn't want to kill the demon.

Of course, Dipper knew his feelings were rather one-sided. Bill definitely wouldn't mind killing him.

"You know what? You're kind of cute all messed up like this. Call it love, but I just really like how you're pulling off that blood," Bill mocked and smeared his hand across Dipper's bloody forehead. He cupped Dipper's cheeks and kissed him on the mouth, the way he'd watched people on TV kiss. He wondered if he was getting the angle wrong or something because it didn't really feel good. A little too dry, maybe. He wiped his bloody fingers against Dipper's lips and tried again. Now that was better. Dipper made a surprised noise and his hands pushed at Bill's shirt but it didn't really do much.

Bill pulled back when his body needed to breathe again and smiled down at the other boy, "you know, that wasn't too bad. Kind of gross, but you know, maybe humans got something right for once."

Dipper's face was covered in bloody finger prints and the smell and taste of iron hung in the air. Geez, why did the kid look so freaked out? _This was what he asked for_ , Bill smiled darkly.

He looked away from Dipper and over to Mabel. She was still at the cage bars, looking angry and extremely confused.

"What do you think, Shooting star? the blood suits him, doesn't it. You can answer."

"You're sick." Mabel scowled fiercely. Bill shrugged passively, "hey, I'm just doing what your brother asked me to do."

"I didn't mean it like this." Dipper said, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth.

A wide grin made its way across Bill's face, "Well I guess you weren't specific enough, kid."

Bill walked back to Dipper and he felt something hit his head and everything went black. He heard Mabel scream and then he didn't hear anything at all.

This definitely wasn't what Dipper had asked for.

 


	5. The End

Mabel felt her eyes water involuntarily as Bill turned to her, fist bloody from knocking her brother out. She tried to hold them back, to will them away. It was useless, she realized, as the tears started slipping down her cheeks. "Be brave", she whispered, "it's okay." _It's okay._ She tried to picture Dipper's confident smile as she whispered it because he made everything safe. Everything better. She glared up hatefully at the demon, fists in tight balls, nails digging into her palms.

"Aww, don't you look cute. Fear is a good look on you. Really brings out your," the demon kid chuckled and circled around her cage, "you know, your eyes."

Maybe it was fear but Mabel spit out, "back off, you jerk" before she even knew what she was saying.

The demon shrugged, "hey, I was going to ask if you wanted to make a deal. I guess you don't."

Mabel narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "what deal?"

Bill twirled his cane, his blond hair falling into his eyes, "Oh, you know the whole 'if you sell your soul' thing. I mean, I have no qualms over just killing you two but having some souls wouldn't be bad either."

"What makes you think that I'd sell my soul to _you_?" Mabel spat angrily, hands on the metal bars again, knuckles white. Bill leaned on the bar next to her and she withdrew her hands with a glare. Bill didn't seem to mind.

Bill pointed his cain at her brother, "well, I was thinking that your brother's life was worth his twin's soul. Kind of fitting, I think."

Bill grinned, his perfectly alined teeth showing. He looked like a school peer, an honors student, a regular kid you'd see in the park. He didn't look evil. Boy, looks could be misleasing. Mabel felt everything slow down, like her heart was struggling to beat and keep things moving. It was fair, in a certain way. She didn't even have to think about what her answer would be, didn't have to ponder on it. As soon as Bill had said it, Mabel knew what she was going to do. Because between her life and her brother's, his was always more important.

Maybe it was just her being selfish.

She didn't know if she would be able to live without her brother. Maybe he would be able to live without her though. She hoped so.

"I'll do i--"

"Mabel, don't." Dipper said and both her and Bill's heads turned to him in surprise. Dipper was still looking up at the ceiling, eyes strangely dull. His hand was limp on the floor, his face was scratched and bruised and yet his voice was sure and resolute. Everything hurt and burned but he didn't care. He didn't care.

"Mabel," Dipper's voice was quiet, "don't be selfish."

The tears came again and Mabel blinked but things only got more blurred. Her voice was shaking, "I'm not going to let you die, Dipper. I'm not going to le-let you die."

It almost looked like Dipper had a small smile on his face, "I know. I know.  Mabel, I love you. You're the best sister in the world. And that's not just because you're my only sister."

Mabel paled, her hands shook, her breath caught. She knew what he was going to do. She opened her mouth to yell the words but he said them first.

"Bill, let's make a deal."

A blue circle sprung up around Dipper's body and the demon smiled in delight. Bill walked over to Dipper, his boyish features alight in the blue circle.

"You want to make a deal? What kind of deal, kid? It's gonna have to be pretty good. Your sister here was about to sell her soul. Got something better than a soul?"

"She's not going to give you her soul. But I will, if you let her go."

Mabel frowned and yelled, "that's not true! I'll sell it! Bill, I'll sell my soul. Please!"

"No you won't." Dipper said seriously and Mabel stopped, eyes shining and round, "please, Mabel. This is my fault, not yours."

Mabel opened her mouth to something but Dipper turned to Bill, cringing as he moved his head, "I'm a nuisance, right? I go around Gravity Falls trying to learn its secrets. I try to unravel them. I get in your way. If I'm out of the picture you'll have total reign again. Hell, I'm a threat. I could destroy you."

Bill considered this, tilting his head, "you make a good point Pine tree. You have been an annoying brat. I wonder if I'd miss your little shenanigans though. Life here is sooo boring. Not easy to entertain yourself as a demon. Oh well, you have overstepped your boundaries one too many times. Actually, more than one."

Dipper swallowed as Bill stepped into the glowing circle stopping in front of him, "Okay kid, I'll make your deal." He extended his hand and a long smile curve along his mouth. The other boy lifted his hand with obvious effort. Just before their hands touched, Dipper hesitated for a second and his eyes involuntarily shot to the side. Most people would have thought nothing of that quick glance. Bill wasn't most people though, and he knew what that glance was. It was a glance of hope.

Bill was about to turn around but was too late.

Mabel hurtled into him, bowling over his human body. She pinned his arms at his side and yelled, "Dipper!! The book!"

Dipper gritted his teeth and crawled the few steps over to where Bill had dropped the book carelessly. Had the boy been faking the extent of his pain? It wasn't possible...it wasn't possible. Bill tried to transform but realized that he needed his fingers for that, he had to snap them. Mabel had his fingers pressed against the ground, unable to move them. Bill's mind raced. Everything happened so fast.

How had Mabel gotten out of the cage?

How had they planned this? Had the soul selling just been bait?

Bill squeezed his eyes shut and when he opened them he saw that Dipper was flipping through the pages of the book. Panic arose within the demon. He tried to knock Mabel off but she had an iron grip on him, tight fingers wrapped around his fingers. He squirmed, went hot and cold. It couldn't end like this. It couldn't end like this.

Dipper started reading from a page, voice solem and resolute.

"Fidentus omnium. Magister mentium. Magne--" Dipper said and suddenly the world started flickering, like a strobe light. Bill felt his chest constrict and his breath fall short. His nails scraped on the floor as the energy seemed to drain from his body. This was what dying felt like, Bill realized. No, no.

Bill Cipher was scared and he yelled, "stop! Please."

He felt weak again, but it wasn't the same spell as the one Dipper had cast on him before. No, this one was the one that was supposed to kill him. He looked up at the other boy and Dipper looked back. His hazel eyes were determined but for a second they wavered, conflicted. The pain within Bill's body was beginning to be too much. Too much. The world flickered one more and then he passed out.  Mabel looked at her brother, as if understanding.

"He was going to kill you Dipper. You can do this."

Dipper looked at her and than at Bill again. Bill, demon or not, was just a kid.

Just a kid.

"Mabel...he's our age," Dipper said. "He's human."

"Dipper, he's a demon. He used to be a kid but then he decided to give up being human. You know this. He's been terrorizing Gravity Falls for who knows how long. He's a bad guy. You know we can't change him. We can't save him and risk the safety of other people."

Dipper shook his head involuntarily, like he didn't believe it. Or maybe he just didn't want to believe it, but knew that Mabel was right and hated it. His hands tightened on the book and he began reading again,"Habeas corpus. Inceptus Nolanus overratus. Ma...Mabel, I can't. I can't do it."

Mabel was silent for a few seconds and then nodded like she knew, "He doesn't love you, you know. He can't. He's a demon. He doesn't care." 

Bill looked at the passed out boy and took in the dirty hair, the bloody lips--the lips that had been kissing him--and boyish features. Dipper knew that he'd been screwed since he first met the triangular demon. Maybe it was love. Or perhaps he was just a risk-freak, liked the excitement that came with brushing shoulders with death. Bill pretty much embodied death. Either way, it was messed up and unhealthy. Dipper knew that, he was smart. He'd gotten an A+ in his psychology elective class. Yet he still fell for a demon. He looked sad and Mabel was sad too.

"That hairpin trick was pretty cool though, right?" Mabel said to lighten the mood for just a second. She pointed at the glittery hair pins that held back her bangs and Dipper smiled even though his lips were kind of cut.

"Yeah, you really saved us, sis."

Mabel glowed and then laughed modestly, "your acting was pretty cool too. The pretending to be all hurt was a nice touch."

They smiled at each other for second and then they both seemed to come to the same conclusion.

"Dipper..." Mabel started, glancing down at the passed out boy beneath her with regret.

"I know," Dipper said quietly and with a sigh he opened the book again. The red cover and golden hand shone in the dim light. He flipped through the pages until he came upon the page he'd been reading from. Only one line left.

He stood up and Mabel got off of Bill, knowing that he was knocked out cold. They stood in front of him, looking down. It was sad, but it had to be done. It had to be done. Dipper licked his dry lips as his voice was suddenly gritty with emotion. He cleared his throat and started reading.

"--gister mentium. Magister mentium. Magister mentium."

 

 

 

 

 

-x-

It was a nice day, no shade, all sun.

It had been a few weeks since the incident and things were pretty much normal. The twins laughed and made jokes. They worked in the store. They even went out into the forest, although their fingers twined together in unspoken agreement. But that was still normal. They were close. They could just forget. They could forget.

Right?

Their cuts had healed nicely.

All except a cut on Dipper's lip. It was small, nothing more than a permanent scratch. A thin line on the bottom of his lip. It wasn't noticeable from afar or even mentionable up close. It just looked like a cat had scratched him. Nothing serious. Nothing worth spending time looking or wondering about. It was nothing but a scratch. But oh, to Dipper it was more.

When he licked his lips, he felt it under his tongue. Felt the indent and was reminded every single time of the person (demon, Dipper reminded himself) who'd given him it. It tasted like iron sometimes, even though it had stopped bleeding weeks ago. It gave him chills, memories flitting through his mind. He worried at it relentlessly, or sometimes avoided touching it all in all. It confused him because _why couldn't the demon just leave him alone?_

He knew why. He was smart, remember?

He knew that it wouldn't just go away. Demons weren't just evil creatures with pacts and deals. No, they were thoughts and ideas and imaginary monsters that made people restless at night and children cry. They were something dark lurking in the corners of a vision and the chill that came and passed for no reason.

He wouldn't ever be left alone, Dipper had accepted that.

At night he lay awake, staring at the ceiling, thinking.

"He was just a kid," he said, remembering what he'd said. For some reason it didn't make sense. Bill had just been a kid and yet he'd been so evil. How could someone so young be so evil? _I wonder what made him that way,_ Dipper sometimes pondered but it was scary to think about.

Mabel looked at him in the dark, immediately understanding. She didn't say anything, just turned to him. Their eyes shone. Dipper closed his first.

"Mabel. He was just a kid," Dipper said again, this time quieter. Disheartened. Guilty.

Mabel smiled that same sad smile again and then got out of her bed and climbed under his covers. She pulled the blankets around them and said, "bro, you're just a kid too."

And Dipper understood. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's done! I hope you enjoyed this story and that it gave you a new perspective or something. I really want to thank all of the people who commented on this story! I read every single one and it made me extremely happy. Thanks again, until next time! 
> 
> THE MORAL: In case you were a little confused, here's what I was thinking during the last few lines. Dipper's obsessed over the fact that he killed Bill, a KID, and kind-of human. Dipper keeps blaming himself because how he could kill a KID? Because kids aren't supposed to be evil and are generally symbols of innocence. What's tripping him up is that Bill WAS EVIL even though he was a KID. Mabel alludes that to the fact that age doesn't matter when it comes to how good or bad a person is by reminding him that he's a KID too, and despite this he still killed someone. Basically, the THE MORAL IS THAT KIDS CAN BE EVIL OR GOOD AND THAT AGE DOESN'T MATTER WHEN IT COMES TO MORALITY AND KINDNESS. Just in case you were curious :D


End file.
